Refrigerator apparatus



Oct. 13, 1953 N. ACHS REFRIGERATOR APPARATUS Fl'ed Jan. 26, 1948 NVENTOR NIUHOLHLS' HHS' :MDM

ATTO R N EY .Patented Oct. 13, 1953 i REFRIGrERATOIt` APPARATUS NicholaaAchs, Detroit,` Mich.

`Applicjtionamlary 26,1948, Serial'No.`-4',393

-:f3 Claims. w1 Y 1;.The. invention pertainsitornpen'.toprefrigerators zand minore :particularly :5to t a rcomtenient mdnor ,fopeningsandwiewing .arrangementlforitoprcpenfsingarefrigerators.

".Itu-wis` :an :object `r-pfrthe :invention `to 'topi' opening r:refrigerator4 with: a :door which .cis Wconvenientsz-to opengandzlclose r. .and-r which :in the -'open.position holdswiemngrmeansrsupima conf-gspicuous :andweasilyi-L observed.. position.

i :It-is alsofaan object fof.;V the invention tofaprcrvide ai topiopening:refrigerator with suchsa ycviewpresentingr: door :inra welldlluxninated arrangement.

It Iiss a `further:objectaoffmyfinvention `to `prolvideffsuch-L altdoor opening and `Viewr presenting arrangements twhiscltlthe Vtf-iewing .fmeans :isron ffandouterosuri'aceof the-door sonas to Y-beexposed -to-.froem air,f :rather thanntofthe tcold. airainathe retrigeratoniwhenfthaoooniswlosed.

.-.Anothen objecbofothednvention tis totprovidela :atop'-openingereinigeratonfwitlfrfsnchfadoorffcpenn scopeeof my invention, @such as relate to them.. v='=arrangement,operation--and @function f'of'lthe `re- "-latedeelementswotthe-structure: to variouskdeta-ils of constrntionandto combinations of parts; ele- @ments peresefand-teconomiesrof manf-a'cture "and numerousotherfeaturesfasewill be apparent from-'xa considerationot the spe'ication'iniconjunction 1width l the drawingsff disclosing#specific xeinbodiinents oftheinventioniniwhich:

*Figi llis afront--elevationlhview showing a itopopeningy refrigerator provided withea-idoor opening and viewing arrangement in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view thereof, partially broken away; and

Fig. 3 is a similar View showing another embodiment of the invention.

Referring more particularly to Figs. l and 2 it will be seen that my invention is illustratively disclosed as installed on a conventional top opening refrigerator having thermal insulating walls I3 enclosing a storage compartment I5, open at the top.

Rising from and above the rear portion of the refrigerator cabinet is an overhead or hood structure l1 provided with suitable conventional provider@4 .i2 `sock'ets:|r9izfonsupportingramelectricfiightsource :2 |,fwhichmaybesaeconventional yfluorescent tube typeofcelectric lamp. :The-hood 4cornlzmises-.na `front shieldf23utoyaidfin reflecting .the light-.downwardlyfandfwhich protects fthe .eyes of.A the operaltor from directly lookingzintozthe'iight.

@In accordance-rwith-rmy invention,- ythedoopprofvided for :the top` ,opening"refrigerator` comprises fa :front "door or.closure;panelc25uandra .rear .f door orctclosure-'panel 21. "-Th'esew doorfpanelswareof a 'length greater' :than the: length `.of the r `top fopening "to therstoragaA compartment: andlthe `:widths of :these .door panelsvis-fsuch that .'thexcombined `:width-s `greater than athewwidthwof :the rtop open- .fing ofthe storageeompartment. ."I'he': iront edge ifoithe reampanel-xis@pivotallyisecuredrtorthe lrear l:edgeaofV .theLfrontypanelt-byl-hingesw. :The rear edge offthe;rearrdoorfpanellilis secured .on :the ftop l of the vrefrigeratorfcabinet, byyfhingeffmeans .129, at al'positionrsufcientlmspaced backrrofthe rear side` of the top opening .of :.the'estorage :com- ...partment so fthatzbothdoor-.panels can Aloe -folded fbaok.r from @the i top opening `to stand `upon tthe :cabinets as shown. ,The-width of the front' door cpanel"` 25.may'be1made slightly .greater llthanvthe width .of-the. .rearqdooryzpanel 2'|, so .thatrwhen lzfoldedl backtthe two. f door *panels will-:stand fsub- `astantially...like-fthe legs of van invertedN, as shownzforl effectively L exhibitingwa 4viewing zele- :fment-3 |,.which.may befa display` card Loraposterll whichlisrmounted onsecuredon the outer surface .oli theifrontwdoor {pa-nel. .Not only is-:tlle `viewing means 3| thus held up inaaiconspicuous position .':for..observation,rfbut infdshisc positionxit .is .also l moreQeeoti-vely; 1 illuminated; 1icy.` the; .iight from the `rlighttsource-2.| :1Ay :handler33: is l provided.; on tthe. outer-side :ofthe front. edge of the' firontdoor .paneL-.for convenience .in-drawingfthe'doonfdown -ftcr that f closed; position leas. :represented by: dotted :lines-1 infaiig. .Alsotthen handle 1533.; facilitates starting to open the door to the partially open position, as represented by dotted linesI in Fig. 2, after which it is merely pushed back to stand in folded position on the rear ledge, as shown in f-ull lines. A strip 35 is secured along the edge of one door panel to close the joint between the two door panels.

Or the viewing element 3| may be a mirror or reflector 3| for showing a conveniently reflected view of the interior of the storage compartment and the contents thereof, as shown in Fig. 3. For this purpose the width of the front door panel 25 is made slightly less than the width of the rear door panel 21 so that when folded back the panels will stand in a position to lean, the front panel inclining forward and downwardly to hold the mirror 3|' at a suitable angular position for observation, as shown in Fig. 3, where the dotted lines and arrows represent the line of vision. To close the refrigerator, the handle 33 on the edge of the front door panel is merely pulled forward and the two door panels are closed down nat as in the first embodiment, previously described.

VThe widths of the door panels previously discussed has reference to thek dimensions which lie in coextensive relation from front yto back, when the cabinet is closed thereby.

It is apparent that within the scope of my invention modifications and different arrangements may be made other than herein disclosed, and the present disclosure is illustrative merely, the invention comprehending variations thereof.

What is claimed as the invention is:

1. In a door opening and viewing arrangement for a top opening refrigerator the combination of, thermal insulating wall means enclosing a cabinet having a storage compartment with a top opening, a front door panel, a rear door panel, the length of each of said door panels being greater than the length of the top opening of the cabinet from side-to-side, the combined coextendable widths of the two door panels being greater than the width of the top opening from front-to-back for covering said top opening when closed down in a coextending relation thereon, hinge means pivotally securing the rear edge of the rear door panel on the top of said cabinet at a position spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of the top opening suitably to provide space for receiving both door panels folded back from said top opening, hinge means pivotally joining the front edge of the rear door panel to the rear edge ofthe front door panel so that by laying the two joined door panels coextensively upon the top of the cabinet the top opening can be closed and it can be opened by turning the pivotally joined edges of the panels up, the dimensions of said panels having relative widths which facilitate folding the two panels back upon the top of the cabinet in an up-standing relation to the rear of the opening for convenient access into the storage compartment, and viewed means on the outer surface of the front door panel for exposure to room vair when the door is closed down upon the cabinet and exposed frontwardly for convenient observation when the door is opened up and folded back in an up-standing position upon the cabinet.

2. A door opening and viewing arrangement for a top opening refrigerator in accordance with claim 1 and further characterized by said viewed means being a display to be held up for conspicuous exhibition when the cabinet is opened, and the width of the front door panel being sufficiently great compared to the width of the 4 rear door panel so that when opened the front door panel is exposed to the front and slightly inclined upwardly with the two panels standing in an inverted V relation.

3. In a door opening and viewing arrangement for a top opening refrigerator the combination of, thermal insulating Wall means enclosing a cabinet having an open top storage compartment, a front door panel, a rear door panel, the length of each door panel being greater than the length of the top opening and the combined coextendable widths of the door panels being greater than the width of said top opening from front to back for covering said top opening when closed down in a coextending relation thereon, hinge means pivotally securing the rear edge of the rear door panel on the top of said cabinet at a position spaced rearwardly from the rear edge of the top opening suitably for providing sufficient space to receive both door panels in up-standing relation thereon and' folded back from the top opening, hinge means pivotally joining the front edge of the rear door panel along the rear edge of the front door panel so that the door can be opened by turning the pivotally joined edges of the panels up and folding the two panels back in an up-standing relation upon the top of the cabinet to the rear of the top opening for convenient access into the storage compartment, reflecting means on the outer surface of the front door panel to be disposed to the room air when the door is closed and to be exposed for convenient and clear observation when the door is opened and folded back on the cabinet, and the widths of the two door panels from front to back being selected with the front door panel sufficiently narrower than the rear door panel so that when the door is folded back in an upstanding position on the cabinet the front door panel is exposed to the front and tilted to the front and down suitably to provide a convenient reflected view of the contents of the storage compartment in said reecting means.

NICHOLAS ACHS.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,100,983 Miles June 23, 1914 1,217,025 Levett Feb. 20, 1917 1,429,052 Ward Sept. 12, 1922 1,896,691 Winchell Feb. 7, 1933 2,093,728 King Sept. 21, 1937 2,430,329 Davis Nov. 4, 1947 2,441,463 Achs May 11, 1948 2,442,515 Shreve June 1, 1948 2,461,421 Jacobus Feb. 8, 1949 2,465,934 Sanders Mar. 29, 1949 

